Obi, Tinubu in or out: INEC Gives Final Say on Disqualification of 2023 Presidential Candidates

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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has reacted to a suit seeking to disqualify Bola Tinubu and Peter Obi from taking part in the 2023 presidential election.

In his chat with Arise TV on Friday, July 15, Festus Okoye, INEC’s commissioner for confirmation and education, made it clear that the commission is yet to be served a court notice to that effect.

Okoye said only the court can decide the fate of Tinubu and Obi adding that the case is now subjudice, which makes INEC incapable of commenting on it.

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However, the INEC commissioner pointed to section 33 of the Electoral Act 2022, as stating that a political party shall not be allowed to substitute or change its candidate whose name has been submitted under section 29 of the Electoral Act, except in the case of death or withdrawal by the candidate.

“…the matter is sub-judice and we are not supposed to comment on it. Secondly, when political parties submitted the names of their presidential candidates and their vice-presidential candidates, there was no provision for a placeholder in the forms they submitted.

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“They submitted the forms for their presidential candidates and they submitted the forms for the vice-presidential candidates and that is the situation.

“However, if you look at section 33 of the Electoral 22, it says that a political party shall not be allowed to substitute or change its candidate whose name has been submitted under section 29 of the Electoral Act, except in the case of death or withdrawal by the candidate.

“But it goes ahead to say that provided that in the case of such a withdrawal or death of the candidate, the political parties affected shall within the occurrence of the event hold a fresh primary election to produce and submit a fresh candidate to the commission for the election concerned.”